Who Moved My Cheese?
Many years ago when I was manager of a social work department in Valencia, CA, I was asked to read this little book called Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson. I was in my late 20s and I was trying to impact a social work department and organization that liked the “Status Quo” and was very good at saying things like “This is how we’ve always done it…so why change?”
I was young, ambitious and filled with so much creativity for new ways of doing things. This little book was given to managers to start to think differently and to begin to recognize that things weren’t always going to be there, or at least in the same place.
This simple story about rats running the same maze every day knowing that their prized cheese would always be there…until one day the cheese had been moved. It’s this cute little story about the struggle for change, adaptation, and the need to be ready to embrace change instead of fight it.
It’s All I Knew
I wasn’t raised by entrepreneurs. Neither was my husband’s family. Both of us came from hard-working parents who spent their lives dedicated to companies and/or the military in hopes of finally retiring one day and enjoying the fruits of all their hard work. After 30 years of service to a large bank, my father walked away with a modest pension and a small grandfather clock.
The work ethic and message I was taught was that you pick a career, work and slave in it, and do everything you can to be a stellar employee so that you can move up the ladder and have a retirement one day. So when I put my toe in the water back in 2002 with private practice, I was filled with fear and also a lot of resistance from those in my life about wanting more or even trying to do something that was on my own. My own belief was low, and there certainly wasn’t much support from my circle of friends and family saying..”Go out there and take a risk.” No, the message was “play it safe and be content.”
Entrepreneurship
In 2013, I was feeling stuck in my corporate career, marriage and life. I felt that there was so much more to give and do, but I didn’t know how. I was surrounded by colleagues and people who were incredibly talented at their job, but they were mostly content with just doing their job and going home at the end of the week. Many didn’t have crazy dreams of something bigger and greater, and so I found myself feeling different and alone in my goals.
Then I got introduced to MLM. I know, I drank the kool aid, but there was something about the group I was being mentored by that was so different. I just wanted to be around them because they were filled with so much positivity and belief in me. They also exposed me to training, leadership books, and lifestyles that I could never have dreamed of. While MLM wasn’t ever going to be my landing place, it did provide the catalyst and belief necessary for me to be courageous, think outside the box, and believe that I was designed for more than what my corporate job offered.
Authentic Gains
In 2017, I went all in and rented an actual office that was all mine. I toggled between my corporate career and building my own clientele. In 2018, I renamed the business Authentic Gains and began a journey of real entrepreneurship that challenged me to face many fears and embrace growth. When I made the decision to walk away completely from my corporate career, many people thought I was crazy to leave behind all the corporate benefits for a dream. Yet, the entrepreneurship bug was in me and I had tasted enough freedom to take the biggest risk ever, and embrace my dream. So I sent in my letter of resignation.
Today
Today I have a very full psychotherapy practice in 2 states. I get to create, write, speak, coach and train in multiple areas. I’ve run workshops, groups, and corporate retreats. I have put a lot of hard work into both increasing my clinical skills and development of new projects. It’s not all rosy, and there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work and a huge learning curve running your own business. Yet I would never want to go back to my life before owning and working in my business. My value of Freedom, requires me to be self-employed so that I no longer feel chained to someone else’s mission, objective or dream, but instead build my own.
I’m most proud of the work that has gone into my new program Combating Teen Anxiety, which offers a Free 4-part training for parents with anxious teens, as well as a comprehensive 10 module program and coaching for those really wanting to make an impact in their teen’s anxiety. I will also be launching my first published work – a parent teen communication journal via Amazon. Keep tuning in to hear more about the launch of this free course and additional training that will be coming up.